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From the category archives:

Sellers

Laura and David Hunt video review of Karen Goodman’s real estate services in the sale of their St. Charles condo.

Video is becoming more and more a part of my business, so it makes sense to use it to introduce you to some of my clients and have them share with you their experiences in working with me and the Arch City Homes team.

Laura and David Hunt with Karen Goodman, real estate agent

Laura was a first time buyer when she purchased her condo. Just a few years and a marriage later, Laura and David were ready to move on to the next stage of their life.

As first time sellers, they had a lot of questions. We talked through all of the issues and put together a great marketing plan. But there were a number of condos on the market in their community and the overall condo market was severely depressed.

No matter what you do, it’s hard to sell a property when  their simply aren’t buyers. Determined to capture the next qualified buyer, we knew we had to be proactive.

We weren’t getting the number of showings that I hoped for in the first few weeks, so we made the decision to do a small price reduction and to offer a buyer’s agent bonus.

Seven days later we had an accepted contract.

In the end, it took us 42 days to get an accepted contract. We were the first condo out of the 6 available in the community to sell.

Now that Laura and David have sold the condo, I’m looking forward to working with them when they are ready to buy a house.

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Video: How to Price your Home to Get it Sold

by Karen Goodman on August 27, 2010

in Sellers

A few years ago, homes that were slightly overpriced and homes that were in just average condition sold every day.

Times have changed.

Jay Papasan, Vice President of Publishing at Keller Williams Realty and co-author of a bunch of great real estate books explains in this video how your price and your condition will determine if you are IN or OUT of the market.

Make no mistake, homes that are OUT of the market simply do not sell.

How Many Many Homes have Sold in St. Louis this Year?

As of today, more than half of the homes & condos that were listed in St. Louis City, St. Louis County and St. Charles County FAILED to sell.

Between 1/1/10-8/26/10, there were 12,209 closed MLS home & condo sales and there were 12,687 listings that were taken off the market WITHOUT selling.

In addition, the homes that DID sell are the ones that were priced right from the start.

How Many Days Does it Take to Sell a Home in St. Louis?

Over half of the closed sales got an accepted contract in 60 days or less, and over 2/3 got an accepted contract in 90 days or less.

  • 0-30 days – 31%
  • 31-60 days – 22%
  • 61-90 days – 15%
  • 91-120 days – 10%
  • 121 or longer – 23%

Just deciding to sell your home doesn’t get it sold. Waiting it out doesn’t get it sold.

I’m a big fan of creative and aggressive marketing. But all the marketing in the world won’t sell an overpriced home.

Pricing it appropriately for the condition, features and location IS what gets your home sold.

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Who are the Top Real Estate Agents in St. Louis?

July 7, 2010

Every few months, I get a call from someone who wants me to meet with them about listing their home, but they also plan to meet with the neighborhood expert who sells “most of the homes in the neighborhood.” You probably aren’t surprised that most people think they will be better served by an agent [...]

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Are Zillow Price Estimates Accurate for St. Louis Homes?

April 25, 2010

Most real estate agents don’t like Zillow. Initially, I think it was a reaction to losing control. For years, agents where the keepers of the housing data. Buyers and sellers had to call an agent when they were trying to determine the value of a home. Public tax records offered the sale price of properties, [...]

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Marketing Homes for Sale with Video Tours

April 24, 2010

Originally published 12/5/09. Updated 4/24/10 to reflect current services to Arch City Homes sellers. Recently I started experimenting with using video to promote homes and condos for sale. Virtual Tour Options: A few years ago, tech savvy agents started adding 360° virtual tours to their listings. If you haven’t seen any of them, the basic [...]

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Selling Homes on the Internet ~ #1 Tip for Success

April 12, 2010

Most real estate agents understand that they need a website to advertise their listings and win over clients. But having a website simply isn’t enough. If serious attention isn’t paid to creating content on the website which will attract home buyers, no one will ever see the ads. Or, buyers will find the home listing [...]

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